Seattle trip

This past month we decided to take a short vacation to Washington. Since dad has been in and out of the hospital so much this past year, we are always looking for opportunities to go visit him and mom in Seattle. We also think that them seeing their granddaughters is always an immediate happiness boost! And who are we to prevent that! We were able to spend 6 fun-filled days in the beautiful Northwest. The weather was unbelievably gorgeous the entire trip, and we fell in love with Seattle all over again. We attended Pauline (Rich's cousin) and Tom's wedding - they were married in the Seattle temple. Here are a few pictures of us at the wedding.






What a happy family!















Kaitlin with her Aunt Amanda.
















Amanda was sure loved by her nieces!












Kaitlin with her Uncle Josh.

























While in Seattle, we had to introduce Kaitlin and Nicole to the Pike Place Market and its famous places. Aunt Lisa, Uncle Josh, and Grandma Pope were with us, so we had to do all of Lisa's favorite activities - which included eating, eating, and eating some more!



Our favorite was the Italian Gelato - yummy!












Nicki and Kaitlin were happily sharing their Gelato with each other.















Mango and pineapple Gelato!!!























































This man let Kaitlin hold his pet bird for a minute, but then his market corner time was up, and he had to leave at 3:00 PM sharp so the piano man could come.















In front of the famous Flying Fish.









Rich and Nicki enjoying Nicki's favorite part of the afternoon - the bus ride!












And when she wasn't on the bus, she made sure she was still getting a ride somehow!















Aunt Lisa, let's do it again next time!!!











The kids' fun with Aunt Lisa and Uncle didn't end there. They spent the night at their condo in Seattle while Rich and Juli spent the night on Whidbey Island to celebrate their 7th anniversary.

We took the Mukilteo Ferry to Whidbey Island, and here was the beautiful view as we crossed the Puget Sound.

























One of our only pictures where one of us wasn't trying to take the picture!











The charming Bed and Breakfast we stayed at is on the market currently, for only $1.3 million! Anyone got any spare change to donate to our cause?




















































We ate dinner at the Edge Cliff, a nice restaurant in Langley (a small town on Whidbey Island). What a fancy dish! The highlight for Juli was the fact that the dish contained asparagus, one of her favorite foods!











Finally, no Seattle trip would be complete without a boat ride on Lake Washington, courtesy of Uncle Mike and Aunt Amanda!


This was Nicole's first boat ride, and she still talks about holding up the flag for the surfers.





















































































A blurry picture of Uncle Mike's lake house.









The only punishment for not going out on the boat was having to listen to Rich and Brian attempt to karaoke to songs like George Michael's Careless Whisper!!!
















We've been contemplating and praying about where we want to live after finishing the orthodontic residency in Ohio. After this week of spending time with family and friends, we have felt like our prayers were answered! We are so excited about our decision to return to Seattle in April 2008!!!